Emily Kesel

Last February, the Marionville Comets upset top-seeded Crane on its home court to claim the district title in a dramatic and intense game. This year, Marionville was the number one seed, having lost only three games all season and firing on all cylinders with one game left to repeat as champions. The Comet faithful, decked out in beach gear and filling the Galena gym, was ready to celebrate another win over the Pirates.

But Crane was determined to avenge last season's loss, and so they did. The Comets' title defense hopes came to an end last Friday with a heartbreaking 50-49 overtime loss to the second-seeded Pirates, ending the season earlier than Coach Ted Young and his team would have hoped.

The game began very much in Crane's favor, as the Pirates took the early lead on a three-pointer and led by as many as four points before Marionville finally scored its first field goal at the 4:50 mark.

The Comets would tie the game at seven briefly, but another Crane trey gave the lower seed the 10-7 lead. By the end of the first period, the Comets trailed 16-9.

Marionville would score the first points of the second quarter on a three by sophomore Josh Goodman. The Comets outscored Crane in the period and brought themselves to within three points of the lead, but the Pirates still maintained a slight advantage of 26-23 at halftime.

The Comets carried the momentum of the second quarter into the third, tying the game on the first possession on a trey by senior Aaron Head. Crane would answer with a bucket to retake the lead, but senior Levi Doyle hit his own three-pointer to give Marionville its first lead of the game moments later. After a low-scoring third quarter, the Comets led 31-30.

Just over a minute into the fourth period, Goodman increased the Marionville lead to three with a steal and layup, but Crane would tie the game at 35 two minutes later.

The fourth quarter passed in much the same fashion, with the teams trading blows and the lead never more than two points at a time. With 37 seconds to go and the game tied at 41, Coach Young called a timeout, instructing his team to stall and wait for a last-second shot to win the game.

Unfortunately, that shot would not be possible, as an offensive foul gave the Pirates the ball with less than five seconds remaining. After their own timeout, the Pirates attempted their own last-second shot, but the attempt was short and the teams regrouped before a four-minute overtime period.

Crane would score the first five points in overtime to take a 46-41 lead before a pair of free throws by senior Brandon Horn cut it to a three-point advantage. On the ensuing Crane possession, Horn stole the ball and broke away for a layup but missed and then fouled the rebounding Pirate player, who made both free throws to make it 48-43.

With just over a minute remaining, a Doyle trey from the corner cut the lead to 48-46, and another 30 seconds later gave the Comets a 49-48 advantage. Crane, though, would take back the lead on a basket with 16 seconds remaining.

The clock continued to run as the Comets looked desperately for an open shot to win the game but none was to be found, and a last-ditch effort by senior Cole Brown missed the mark, giving the Pirates the upset victory.

Goodman led the Marionville offense with 13 points off the bench, while Doyle followed with 12 points. Head added nine, while Horn scored six and junior Ryan Mayberry added five. Brown and senior Nick Dean each contributed two.

The Comets finished the year with an impressive overall record of 24-4, including a 5-1 record in the MidLakes Conference. Five seniors on the team will be lost due to graduation (Head, Horn, Brown, Doyle and Dean), but several important contributors are likely to return next season, including Goodman, Mayberry and starting sophomore guard Gavin Stanton.

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Comets upset by Crane in final rematch - Aurora Advertiser